The 2024 winners recognize the importance of offering more than just compensation and implement innovative strategies to retain and enable their employees to be exceptional.
InvestmentNews data shows employees from this year’s winning firms have confidence in their leadership, reporting that:
96 percent feel their organization helps them develop professionally
94 percent believe their organization enables a culture of diversity
97 percent believe their organization’s leaders care about employees’ well-being
96 percent understand their organization’s long-term strategy
94 percent look forward to going to work most days
“We care about improving our clients’ lives, but we think just as much about improving the lives of our team members,” says Lauren Adams, director of operations at winning organization Center for Financial Planning.
“It’s important for us to create a supportive and collaborative environment for our advisors,” says Nicholas DiFiore, director of operations at fellow winner VLP Financial Advisors. “Our team ethos revolves primarily around mutual support and mentorship.”
Impressively, 100 percent of this year’s winning firms offer flexible hours to accommodate events such as school commitments for parents or taking a family member to the doctor.
Collaboration and education
Founded in 1985, Michigan-based firm Center for Financial Planning has a proud record of monitoring employee satisfaction diligently. A key component of the firm’s strategy is to nurture a culture of collective learning.
“If a client is a better fit with one of my partners or another advisor, it’s no problem to either transfer them or to work together. We’re incentivized for clients to be happy, not for us to keep our hands on the clients,” shares Adams.
By encouraging teamwork, the company creates a workplace where employees support one another. Every Monday, its 10-person planner team holds a meeting, offering employees the chance to discuss client cases and collectively solve problems.
“When you think about the hourly billing, it’s an expensive thing for the firm to do, but we’ve done it for decades,” adds Adams. “You don’t have to go at it alone. You’re a part of a team where you can ask for help.”
Working to expand its own team, Best Places to Work winner JMG Financial Group has increased its employee count by 45 percent since 2020. To better focus on its people, the company frequently implements employee feedback and has introduced:
a bonus pool
restructured career pathways
“We care about the totality of our team members’ lives – not just about how they’re performing at work. What are their personal goals and how can we support them? When something’s going on in their lives, how can we be there for them?” Lauren AdamsCenter for Financial Planning
To fulfill requests for further compensation benefits, in 2016, the company added a bonus pool to its incentive structure, allowing all staff to benefit when new business is acquired.
“We want everyone to benefit when we get new clients because everybody helps with new business. When one team has an influx of new clients, they often get some help from another team to help them out,” says Yonhee Gordon, principal and chief operating officer.
The pool system not only encourages teamwork but decreases competition among employees as financial incentives are not solely based on individual performance.
“There’s a great aspect of teamwork here, and we all want the boats to rise together,” adds Gordon.
This year, the firm is also working to update its employee development framework to account for alternative career pathways.
“This really has to do with addressing the individuals who are really good at certain aspects of providing support but may not really want to be that lead advisor,” says Gordon. “I think it’s wonderful that we are listening to that and rethinking how we can modify the career path for them.”
VLP Financial Advisor s and the Center for Financial Planning encourage career planning and education through incentives including:
covered tuition for courses such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)
professional development days
opportunities to attend industry events and conferences
As a result of these initiatives, 50 percent of the Center for Financial Planning’s employees have obtained a CFP designation.
“We encourage folks to get education and never stop. Just because you graduated college and got your CFP, it doesn’t mean you have to be done,” says Adams. “Everyone at the firm has a personalized professional development plan that’s formally checked in on quarterly.”
VLP’s DiFiore adds, “We strive to create an environment where professionalism and personal growth go hand in hand, ensuring that our advisors have the support resources they need to succeed.”
Internal succession
InvestmentNews data reveals 89 percent of this year’s winners have formalized programs and practices for succession planning.
“We’ve retired all three of our founders, and they’re all clients today, which is wonderful. They were replaced by the second generation, and as they retire, they’re bringing up the third generation,” says Adams.
This succession planning is achieved through the firm’s pathways to partnership document. By providing employees with the informational resources and support they need to advance within the company, over the last five years, the Center for Financial Planning has successfully internally promoted four staff members to partners.
Over the last 30 years, JMG has maintained an average employee tenure rate of 15 years. Gordon attributes part of this success to the firm’s dedication to developing and promoting internal talent.
This year, the firm onboarded several new partners. Gordon notes that among those promoted, two started out at JMG as receptionists, each having worked at the company for over 30 years.
“We recognize that we want to keep talented employees, so that’s why we invest in our people.”
“The more you do to support your people, the more they will want to work hard to support the company. I think that’s why we have a lot of loyalty in our firm and why we’ve been successful with high retention” Yonhee GordonJMG Financial Group
Recognition, rewards, and benefits
Across the 2024 winners, employees reported that:
92 percent are satisfied with the amount of vacation or paid time off
88 percent feel their pay is fair for the work they perform
92 percent are satisfied with their organization’s benefits package
VLP Financial Advisors provides employees with a range of benefits and incentives.
“In terms of benefits that advisors value the most, we found programs on well-being, mental health, and flexible work arrangements were greatly appreciated,” says DiFiore.
As part of the health insurance plan, its 20 employees are given a subscription to Noom, the mental health and exercise app.
“By cultivating a workplace where our team members feel valued, supported, and connected, we’re able to create a positive environment where everyone can thrive,” notes DiFiore.
At the end of 2021, the firm extended its hybrid work model to offer employees an improved work-life balance, transitioning from two remote days a month to two days per week.
The Center for Financial Planning keeps employees engaged through gamified reward systems. At monthly team meetings, employees can nominate one another for demonstrating key company values:
Commitment to the financial planning process
Education and personal growth
Nice and kind
Teamwork and collaboration
Energy and enthusiasm
Real and down-to-earth
The nominated employees spin a wheel to earn rewards ranging from a free lunch to a day off. Adams notes, “It’s peer-driven, connected to our values, and there’s some fun because it’s a recurring cadence.”
Accordingly, InvestmentNews data highlights 95 percent of the companies on this year’s list ranked positively when employees were asked to determine if they had fun at work.
Another related scheme is offering monetary rewards, where employees can earn between 15 percent and 50 percent of their annual salary in incentive compensation based on factors including:
employee performance
the firm’s revenue growth
“The incentive compensation we give depends on the percentage of year-over-year revenue. If we have more than 10 percent growth, we give employees the highest amount. If we have less, it’s lower,” states Adams.
JMG Financial Group shows appreciation for its employees through engaging social events. The firm’s event committee hosts monthly functions ranging from Olympic games to Thanksgiving luncheons and themed holiday parties (previous themes include casino nights and masquerade balls).
“The holiday party is like a little wedding. It’s 150 people because it’s the employees and their guests. We want everybody to have a good time,” shares Gordon.
During tax season, JMG’s employees prepare over 1,400 returns. While advisors are required to come in on Saturdays to keep up with the workload, JMG introduced in 2021 a culture club to make the extended hours more enjoyable. Working in collaboration with the events committee, the employee-led club plans after-work happy hours and themed dress-up days.
“Employees don’t have to participate,” says Gordon. “It’s just about having the opportunity to do things like that.”
To create programs and incentives that are meaningful to employees, the Center for Financial Planning places an importance on feedback. The firm gathers employee opinions and ideas through:
feedback surveys three times a year
company-wide visioning in which employees were asked to share what they wanted the firm to look like in 2030
“We spend a lot of time, energy, and money on our firm culture,” says Adams. “We put as much emphasis on our team member experience as we do on our client experience. All team members have a say in our firm vision and goals.”
Similarly, VLP conducts quarterly connectivity surveys, giving advisors the chance to provide upper management with feedback.
DiFiore says, “The surveys are geared around gathering recommendations and insight from the team to ensure alignment with their preferences.”
VLP’s employee connectivity surveys have:
90 percent participation rate
95 percent satisfaction rate
As a result of this feedback, DiFiore plans to expand VLP’s wellness offering to paid family medical leave.
“This will provide longer parental leave for team members and paid leave for caretakers in case somebody from a family is ill or injured.”
“Employee engagement is integral to our ability to attract and retain top talent. The enthusiasm and passion our employees have resonates with our clients, partners, and the community to help reinforce our reputation as a trusted advisor” Nicholas DiFioreVLP Financial Advisors
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
In a male-dominated sector, the Center for Financial Planning stands out for its history of equal leadership. This is illustrated by women being:
54 percent of the firm’s historical owners
42 percent of the firm’s financial planners
three of the eight current partners
Despite these successes, Gordon notes that further work still needs to be done across the industry to promote female representation.
Citing a lack of awareness, the chief operating officer hopes to see a future where young women are more actively encouraged to pursue careers in finance.
“One out of every six applicants I get are female – that’s a low percentage. I think we need to do more to educate parents about this profession to their daughters. Even in college, some students don’t know about financial planning majors until they’re a junior, and then it’s too late to change.”
The formal recruitment and retention programs and/or practices of this year’s winning firms show that:
53 percent target varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds
27 percent address those who may require accommodations for their mental or physical limitations
To find and recognize the Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors, InvestmentNews and Best Companies Group first invited organizations to participate by filling out an employer form, which asked companies to explain their various offerings and practices. To be eligible, an organization must:
1) be a registered investment adviser (RIA), affiliated with (but not an employee of) an independent broker dealer (IBD), or a hybrid/dually registered firm affiliated with an IBD and doing business through an RIA;
2) be based in the US;
3) have a minimum of 15 full- or part-time employees working in the US (all employees in the company should be included in the employee count, not just in the financial advising department); and
4) be in business for a minimum of one year.
Next, employers completed an in-depth questionnaire and employees were given the opportunity to offer their honest feedback by taking part in a company-wide survey. Once both portions of the assessment were complete, the InvestmentNews team analyzed the data to determine if an organization had what it takes to be the “best.”
To ensure credibility, organizations having 15–24 employees must have an 80 percent or better response rate on the employee survey.
